Traceability is the foundation for any sustainability program. But tracing the chain of custody back to the small producer (the first mile) rarely happens. Simple technologies now demonstrate that it can be done and we can see that it has considerable value for any sustainability-oriented approach.

When well-executed, private sustainable sourcing programs can offer substantial value. Some approaches designed by firms can raise concerns about whether they offer much benefit to producers and the environment, or, they are little more than compliance checklists. However, they can also be effective in their design and execution so that they offer substantial value to both the suppliers and the firm. Our long history of successfully designing company programs and strategies has yielded useful lessons of what to do and what NOT to do in these eight key steps to sustainable sourcing.